Green hedge walls tighten the edges of this farmhouse garden with pool, turning the space between the buildings into a sequence of smaller scenes. A walk around the house keeps shifting the view: one moment the path opens toward the pool terrace, the next it slips past planting and stone to a quieter corner. The layout is compact, but it never feels static.

A perimeter walk that keeps changing the view

The garden is arranged as a route, not as a single open lawn. As you move along the house, the path reveals narrow passages, then wider outlooks framed by planting and the building masses around it. That movement gives the intimate farmhouse garden its pace. The eye is led by edges of greenery, by turns in the paving, and by the way the house holds the center of the composition.

Stone appears where the route needs emphasis. In the paving and stepping-stone sections, it breaks the greenery into clear intervals and keeps the circulation legible. The result is practical, but it also sharpens the way the garden is read: path, planting, terrace, then water. Because the walk loops around the buildings, every section offers another angle on the same compact setting.

Evergreen planting used as privacy hedges

Privacy hedges do most of the visual work here. The evergreen planting forms dense masses that screen the garden where it needs shelter and soften the hard edges of the built surroundings. Rather than enclosing the space in one move, the planting builds a series of partial walls. That creates sheltered pockets and lets the garden stay open in selected directions.

Those evergreen blocks also shape the transitions around the pool. Seen from the terrace, they hold the background steady and keep attention on the immediate setting: water, stone, and the narrow band of planting around it. In an intimate farmhouse garden, that kind of privacy is not only about screening. It also gives the garden its rooms, with each hedge mass marking a different pause along the route.

Stepping stones and tighter passages

The garden path with stepping stones appears as a controlled break in the planting. Instead of a broad, formal axis, the route moves through smaller gestures in stone. That keeps the circulation light and gives the planted beds room to press close to the path. The stepping stones, together with the hedge lines, make the garden feel assembled from a series of measured decisions.

From some points, the path narrows the view toward the house; from others, it opens to a long look across the greenery. Those shifts are what make the walk memorable. The garden does not rely on large gestures. It works through proportion, the placement of stone, and the way evergreen planting for privacy catches the edges of each view.

The natural stone pool terrace as the garden anchor

The pool terrace is finished in natural stone, and that material gives the water zone a firm outline. The stone border reads clearly against the water and the planting around it. Around the pool, the terrace creates sheltered corners rather than one expansive hard surface, so the area feels settled into the garden instead of placed on top of it. The natural stone pool terrace becomes the point where the route around the house pauses.

Furniture sits close to the water, close enough that the terrace feels usable without needing extra decoration. A parasol and seating mark the area as a place to stop, while the stone surface keeps the setting grounded. The combination of pool water, edge detail, and nearby hedge massing is what gives this part of the project its quiet focus.

What the stone edge does

The edge around the pool is not a decorative line. It is the transition that ties the terrace to the rest of the garden. Because the stone sits in a clean band around the water, the pool reads as a deliberate insertion within the planting rather than a separate object. That helps the surrounding greenery and the paved route remain connected in one continuous sequence.

From the terrace side, the stone also keeps the setting visually calm. It gives the water a clear frame and prevents the pool from dissolving into the garden around it. In a project like this, those small boundaries matter. They define where you walk, where you sit, and where the garden opens into a view.

Farmhouse materials kept in view

The buildings around the garden provide the backdrop: red roof tiles, brickwork, and areas of white plastered wall. Those surfaces make the planting read more strongly. Against the pale wall zones, the hedge masses look denser; against the brick, the greenery feels layered and grounded. The garden does not compete with the architecture. It uses the building edges to sharpen its own structure.

Details such as the metal fence and gate, together with the wooden openings in the house, add a slower rhythm to the scene. They sit between the hard lines of masonry and the softer planting, which keeps the garden from becoming overly rigid. Even the shadow patterns across the walls help underline the route around the house, because they point back to the movement of light through the garden.

A compact setting with room for views

Because the garden is enclosed between the buildings, every opening has weight. A narrow gap, a hedge break, or a change in paving can redirect the whole view. That is what makes the intimate farmhouse garden feel richer than its size suggests. The eye keeps moving from the pool to the planting, from the path to the facades, and then back to the stone terrace.

Nothing here is overdrawn. The project relies on clear spatial moves: a perimeter walk, evergreen screening, a pool terrace in natural stone, and a handful of framed views. Together they turn the space around the house into a sequence of controlled moments, each one shaped by the next hedge, the next turn in the path, or the next glimpse of water.

Photography: Annick Vernimmen

Contributors: Architect: Bart François
Pool: Biopool